paused, hovering a fraction of an inch above the button.
He knew what waited for him on the other side of that button click. His mother would be angry. She would scold him for remaining in Manila. She would chew his ass good. And when the chewing ended, the pleading would begin. Begging him to return. Weeping at his absence.
God, the weeping was worst of all.
The phone continued to sound in his hand. Ronnie stared at it for a few more seconds, and then did something he had never done before—never expected to do.
He slid his thumb over the keypad and pressed the button that read END.
He felt guilty when he did it. He also felt guilty about the lie he would have to tell later: Sorry, Mother, I didn’t hear it. Manila is so noisy.
He promised himself that he would call her back right away, as soon as he had some answers from Optimo. This was why he had come, to confront them face-to-face. Now he was literally on the threshold, and he couldn’t let anyone stop him.
Not even his mother.
He put the phone in his pocket and opened the door.
“Where did she get off the bus?” Mendonza asked Favor. They were in the car, headed away from San Felipe, north toward Tacloban. “Was she still on it when it got to Manila? Or did she take off somewhere between here and there?”
“She went to Manila. Why wouldn’t she?” Favor said. “She wanted the job. Nice money. She was excited.”
“Maybe she’s a spur-of-the-moment runaway. She’s on the bus, she decides she doesn’t want the job, but she’s too ashamed to go home.”
“I don’t think so,” Favor said. “I asked a lot of people this morning; I couldn’t find one who believed that she would run away and disappear for a week. Nobody. It was ‘Not Marivic, never in a million years.’ They might all be wrong, but I doubt it. I think she rode that bus all the way to Manila, just the way she was supposed to.”
“I agree,” Mendonza said. “I just wanted to hear you say it.”
“So, what happened in Manila after she sent that text to her brother? The agency claims she never got off the bus. Maybe they missed her. Or maybe whoever was supposed to meet her didn’t get there in time and doesn’t want to admit it. Either way, she ends up at the terminal with no place to go.”
“That’s very possible.”
“But then what?” Favor said. “She would let someone know, right? Stranded at the terminal, she would call somebody.”
“Maybe her phone was busted. Or she lost it.”
“I’ll buy that. But I don’t buy that she would go four or five days without finding a way to let Mom know she’s okay.”
“No,” Mendonza said.
“Unless something kept her from calling. She had an accident. Or she gets snatched by some random creep.”
“She was carrying a residence certificate and birth certificate for her passport. If there was an accident, her mother would’ve been notified,” Mendonza said. “The random predator, I don’t think so. Manila’s a rough town in a lot of ways, and there’s sure plenty of chances for a young woman to get into trouble. But the psycho killer, the Ted Bundy kind that picks a stranger out of a crowd and snuffs her out, that’s something you just don’t see in this country.”
“So we’re saying that she did ride the bus all the way to Manila.”
“Correct.”
“But she didn’t get lost or stranded at the terminal, because by now she would’ve checked in at home.”
“Correct.”
“But you see where this leaves us,” Favor said. “If she took the bus all the way to Manila, and didn’t get stranded…”
“Then somebody from the agency met her after all.”
“Exactly.”
“And now they deny it?” Mendonza said. “And they won’t let her call home?”
“I know it seems unlikely,” Favor said. “But that’s where you end up, if you think it all the way through.”
Mendonza looked up the highway, considering this. They were passing a village tucked in between the highway and shoreline. It seemed to be about the size of San Felipe, with the same mix of huts and tiny thatched cottages and makeshift shanties.
Mendonza said, “Something’s been bugging me about the whole setup. Marivic getting that job offer. It seems like such a long shot.”
Favor shifted in his seat, looking at Mendonza, catching the tone of worry in his voice.
“You see this place?” Mendonza said. He was motioning out toward the seafront village. “How many like it did we pass